Locked Out
by Chrys-DASL
Summary: When little Francine lost her keys in kindergarten, she ends up with a big problem on her hands. Did she ever find her keys…and her parents? For my 10x10 Challenge/NaNo2018


Francine (1): lost something (1)

_Locked Out_

My name is Francine and I am in the first grade. This is my story about last year. I was in kindergarten. I had never been to school before. I went to daycare but Mom had to pick me up. This was by myself. I had to walk home. I had to have keys made, but I lost them. This is that story.

It was a Tuesday. It was rainy. We couldn't go outside all day. I had my poncho and rain boots. I had an umbrella but I left it at school. I walked home the way I was told. I jumped in all the puddles. Jump! Stomp! I jumped in all of them. I liked the bigger ones but not the deep ones. I was afraid of being sucked in.

I got home before anyone else. I went to get my keys but they weren't in my bag. I checked in my lunch box. I checked in my pencil box. I tried under the mat but Catherine lost that one forever and ever ago. That's why Mom and Dad told me not to lose my key. They had to pay to make it. Paying to copy keys was a lot of money. They don't have a lot of money.

So I started crying. A neighbor heard and invited me into her apartment. I didn't want to go just in case Catherine got home. Catherine could let me in and I wouldn't get in trouble. The lady told me we'd keep her door open and spy into the hallway. I went with her.

Her apartment was smaller than ours. I had to go potty and it was a different bathroom too, no tub just a shower. It was a really small bathroom too. I asked her why her place was so small. She said she liked it that way. She lived alone. Her husband died, she said. He used to work for the city like my dad did. I asked her how she knew my dad, but a lot of people knew my dad. She knew him because he was always so nice. I agreed with her. My dad is always nice.

Except when I get in trouble. I told her that and she asked why I'd get in trouble. I told her I'd lost my keys and that's why I was locked out. She didn't realize that. She thought no one was answering the door, but she said that later. She was trying to help out a little kid. She didn't know I was a big kid in school. She got more questiony after that. She asked me where I had my keys last. I couldn't remember. I used them the day before to get inside. I put them back in my bag, but now they were gone.

She asked me my school's name. She called the school, but it was late so only the secretary lady and a janitor were there. The janitor went to look in my classroom but didn't find anything. I asked her what time it was, and when she told me I knew Catherine should be home soon. I sat close to the door but she never came. Even after four o'clock she didn't come.

At four-thirty, the lady called the building manager. They had my mom and dad's work numbers, so they called them. No one answered. The building manager knocked on the door. I asked him if he could let me in, but he said everyone had their own locks. I was confused so the nice lady told me everyone had to buy their own locks. The building didn't keep spare keys. That was up to the residents, or people like us.

No one answered the door, and Catherine wasn't home. The lady asked me where Catherine went to school and what grade she was in. I told her but no one answered at the school. It was too late. Everyone had gone home, but my people weren't home yet.

By five-thirty, a lot of people were walking around the building. They were getting off work. I was getting hungry so the nice lady fed me a snack. She called the building manager to call my parents' jobs again. She was getting scared, and that made me feel scared. Big people aren't supposed to be scared. Little kids are supposed to be scared. But the nice lady was scared, and the building manager was scared too. He called the jobs and asked about my parents until he got answers. My parents were at work until time to leave, but no one knew where they were going after.

I was scared. I started to cry but the nice lady didn't comfort me. I think she wanted to cry too. I'd been with her for hours and hours and my parents weren't home. My sister wasn't home either. They were supposed to be home, I said, and that's when they decided to call the police and the hospital. The hospital didn't know anything, but the police sent some cops over. They talked to me in the nice lady's living room.

By six-thirty, a lot of people knew what was going on. I was worried. I didn't know what was going to happen. I thought my parents were hurt somewhere. I was even scared my sister was hurt and I don't even like her. The police told me they probably weren't hurt or they would know about it already, but that didn't make me feel better. That made me feel worse. What if they were hurt somewhere and no one knew?

At seven, there was a commotion outside. Everyone looked and it was my parents! I wanted to run to them, but the cops stopped me. They took them away and made me stay with the nice lady. She closed her door and locked it.

"I want my parents!" I yelled, but she wouldn't let me leave. I felt trapped and angry. It wasn't fun at all.

Then the police came in. My mom was with them. She told me they had been looking for me all day! Well, all day since I left school. I was supposed to go with them on a trip. They went to see my Bubby—that's my grandmother. I wasn't at school, so they went without me. They thought I went home and was safe. They didn't know I left my key until Catherine had to do her homework before dinner. Catherine picked up my keys by mistake. She said they were on my desk because they fell out and she thought they were hers.

It was all a misunderstanding. The cops didn't arrest my parents, and the nice lady wasn't so mad now that they were back. She made sure they fed me dinner, and they did. Mom made me a grilled cheese. Dad gave me my bath and made sure I was okay.

I was still scared that I was in trouble. When they came to say good night, I told them and they said I wasn't in trouble, that it was their fault. They should have called the school to remind me just in case, so they did that from then on. We go see my Bubby after school sometimes still. I go with them and we have fun.

I haven't lost my keys again. My parents gave a copy to the nice lady just in case I do, but I haven't. I do go by and say hi to her sometimes though. She gives me cookies and kisses my head. I think she's glad I found my parents too.

~End

A/N: Piece 31 of 100 for my 10x10 Challenge. For more info, see my profile or shoot me a PM.


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